page_title: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
hierarchical_section_title: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
caption_attribution_description: English: The statue of Cincinnatus at his plough in Cincinnati, Ohio.
context_page_description: Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue— particularly civic virtue —by the time of the Empire.
  Cincinnatus was a conservative opponent of the rights of the plebeians who fell into poverty because of his son's violent opposition to their desire for a written code of equitably enforced laws. Despite his old age, he worked his own small farm until an invasion prompted his fellow citizens to call for his leadership. He came from his plow to assume complete control over the state but, upon achieving a swift victory, relinquished his power and its perquisites and returned to his farm. His success and immediate resignation of his near-absolute authority with the end of this crisis has often been cited as an example of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, humility, and modesty. As a result, he has inspired a number of organizations and other entities, some named in his honor.
context_section_description: Lucius Quinctius (or Quintius) Cincinnatus (Latin: [ˈluːkɪ.ʊs ˈkᶣiːŋktɪ.ʊs kɪŋkɪnˈnaːtʊs, - ˈkᶣiːntɪ.ʊs -]; c. 519 – c. 430 BC) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue— particularly civic virtue —by the time of the Empire.
  Cincinnatus was a conservative opponent of the rights of the plebeians (the common citizens) who fell into poverty because of his son's violent opposition to their desire for a written code of equitably enforced laws. Despite his old age, he worked his own small farm until an invasion prompted his fellow citizens to call for his leadership. He came from his plow to assume complete control over the state but, upon achieving a swift victory, relinquished his power and its perquisites and returned to his farm. His success and immediate resignation of his near-absolute authority with the end of this crisis (traditionally dated to 458 BC) has often been cited as an example of outstanding leadership, service to the greater good, civic virtue, humility, and modesty. As a result, he has inspired a number of organizations and other entities, some named in his honor.  In the United States, parallels are drawn between Cincinnatus and national hero George Washington, and, as such, the Society of the Cincinnati, the town of Cincinnatus, New York, and (indirectly) the city of Cincinnati, Ohio are named after him.
  Modern historians question some particulars of the story recounted in Livy and elsewhere but usually accept Cincinnatus as a historical figure who served as suffect consul in 460 BC and as dictator in 458 BC and (possibly) again in 439 BC, when the patricians called on him to suppress the feared uprising of the plebeians under Spurius Maelius, after which he ceded power and famously resigned.
caption: Statue of Cincinnatus at his plough in Cincinnati, Ohio
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